Diplomacy
by Solosorca
Summary: Star Wars AU. A Diplomatic mission goes wrong, leaving Tezuka to flea for his life. (TezuRyo)


This was written for the christmas exchange on tumblr for argyos. It's set in the space politics of the Star Wars expanded universe (that now has a new name since the Force Awakens retconned them)

* * *

Tezuka looked at his immaculately packed suitcase and ran through his internal list of all the things he'd need on this trip to Hiybos, making sure nothing left out of place before his departure.

He was a junior assistant to the ambassador and this was his first diplomatic mission off-planet as the junior assistant to the ambassador. Hiybos was a beautiful planet in the Inner Rim that had never sided with anyone during the reign of the Empire or the New Republic - they'd kept the ruling party at arm's length, being civil enough to mean that their internal politics were not disrupted, but never throwing in their allegiance with them at any stage.

But now, the New Republic wanted to bring them into the fold. From where Tezuka was standing, it looked like there weren't any real disadvantages in joining them, but Hiybos had naturally been a bit resistant. So a full diplomatic envoy was being sent to convince them of every advantage of being in the New Republic.

Tezuka ran through the list again and was absolutely sure he'd packed everything he'd need. He was distracted by a knock on the door; clicking the suitcase firmly shut he went to answer it.

It wasn't much of a surprise who was there, but it still made Tezuka's insides turn to goo.

"Hey there, Kunimitsu," Ryoga said, the usual easy grin on his face. "Ready for your big adventure?"

Ryoga was sort of his childhood friend. He was the son of Senator Rinko Echizen, and Tezuka's family were heavily involved in politics so the families were very close. Tezuka had the feeling that if either of them had been born a girl they would've been betrothed to each other pretty early on.

But they weren't. Ryoga was a playboy, dating the most beautiful women in the universe and Tezuka… Tezuka was a junior assistant to an ambassador.

"I'm ready to go, yes." Tezuka said, standing back to let Ryoga in.

"Now you're in the big diplomatic envoy, girls are going to be throwing themselves at your feet," Ryoga said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Tezuka nodded unenthusiastically hoping girls would restrain themselves from doing so.

Maybe he should tell Ryoga that he wasn't interested in girls, that he liked him, but the thought made his insides twist up and he resisted the impulse.

"Mum sent me to make sure you're ready to go," Ryoga said, "something about how you'll be nervous and blah blah blah, you know how she gets."

"Thank her for me," Tezuka replied," and I'm feeling fine."

"Are you leaving soon?"

"I was just about to leave for the spaceport," Tezuka replied. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Sorry, I would but I've got a date," Ryoga said looking genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry," he sighed, "I caught mum looking at old photos again. I wanted a distraction."

Tezuka nodded, knowing exactly who was in those old photos. The youngest Echizen brother had disappeared when he was five, never to be seen again. The Echizen family still hadn't recovered fully and probably never would.

"It's stupid," Ryoga muttered, "I barely even remember him and I know he'd dead, but…" he trailed off.

Tezuka wanted to hug him, wanted to hold him close and tell him it was all okay.

"If I find him, I'll bring him home," he promised.

"Thanks." There was a moment more of silence and then Ryoga gathered himself. "Anyway, I've got a hot date and you've got a flight to catch. We'd better get moving!"

—-

The sharp knock on the door woke Tezuka. It took a second for him to re-orientate himself in the dirty early morning light dimly illuminating his bedroom. He pulled himself up and slid his glasses on as he tried not to trip on the rug on his way to the door.

He was surprised to open the door to find the ambassador standing outside, looking tired and stressed.

"Ambassador," Tezuka said, shocked. "Come in."

"Thank you, Tezuka," the ambassador said, stepping in. "Please shut all your windows," he added in a whisper.

Tezuka nodded and pressed the button on the room environment control panel.

"I've just jammed any electronic devices in here for a minute," the ambassador said, pulling a small memory chip out of his pocket. "Take this back to Coruscant. Do not show it to anyone but Leia Organa Solo. Understand?"

"Yes," Tezuka replied, wondering what this was all about. The last few days had been going well, a bit stressful yes, but nothing to indicate that Hiybos was hiding some massive secret.

"Go in the morning," the ambassador said. "Don't look like you're hurrying away, but go as fast as possible and avoid all guards."

Tezuka nodded, feeling punch drunk. What was going on?

"Get some sleep," The ambassador said, patting Tezuka on the shoulder, "and good luck."

Sleep was the last thing on Tezuka's mind as he collapsed on the bed and lay there, mind spinning. He stashed the memory chip in his bag before the jamming device had worn off. What was on it? Why had it been entrusted to him? He supposed he must be the most expendable member of the party or the one who'd be missed the least…

How was he supposed to get off the planet without a ship? That thought ate at his stomach as he mulled it over. He didn't like play things by ear, he liked having a definitive plan in place. The hours ticked by so slowly that Tezuka could have sworn that time was slowing down just to punish him.

He'd already packed all his possessions and they were waiting for him at the end of his bed. He'd also written a note, claiming he was feeling homesick. Maybe it'd work, maybe it wouldn't, but Tezuka thought it was worth covering his tracks, if only a little.

As soon as it became a sensible time for Tezuka to leave, he gathered up his case and set off, the memory chip now in his pocket, feeling like a lead weight.

The streets weren't busy, just a few early risers going about their business. There were also a lot of soldiers. That didn't surprise Tezuka so much, there had been plenty of them around since he'd arrived, he'd put it down to the diplomatic envoy and hadn't worried about it. He worried now.

But, none of them paid him the slightest bit of attention. He wasn't a wanted person yet.

Still, he started to panic as he got closer to the spaceport. He needed to find a ship. He'd never hired one before and had no idea how to go about it.

He hovered around, keeping his distance, but close enough to keep his eye on the people around, looking for… he didn't know what, just someone with a ship

for hire. If only they would walk past holding a sign saying 'hire my ship.'

Someone bumped into him and he spun around, "sorry!"

The person who'd walked into him -a young woman with stunning golden-brown eyes- glared at him.

"What are you gawping at?" she demanded, her voice lower than Tezuka would have expected.

"Sorry," Tezuka apologised again. "You look like someone I know." She had Ryoga's eyes.

The woman shrugged. "Whatever. If you're finished staring, I've gotta get off this fucking planet."

Tezuka's brain snapped into gear. "Do you have a ship?"

"Of course." The woman rolled her eyes.

"I would like to hire a ship to Coruscant."

"Would you now?" she replied, a smirk twisting onto her lips. "How much are you paying?"

Tezuka did a quick calculation of his funds in his head. "10,000 credits, half now, half when we get there. I also need to avoid any entanglements with the law."

"Double that and we've got a deal."

"15,000," Tezuka said, hoping he could claim this back as expenses.

The woman sighed, "Fine. Do you have any papers - fake or otherwise?"

Tezuka shook his head.

"Okay. I know a way round this."

She lead Tezuka to a material shop. Tezuka followed in silence and watched as she browsed the shelves.

"I'm Tezuka," he said as she pulled out a roll of highly decorated red silk.

"Ryoko," the woman said. "Come on, I need your money."

Tezuka paid for a long swathe of material and then had it draped over him a back alley by the shop, completely covering him from head to foot.

"Give me your bag," Ryoko said, Tezuka did as he was told. Then, Ryoko took his

hand and lead him out the alley. "And don't say anything!"

He was lead back towards the spaceport, or he assumed he was, he couldn't see at all through the silk.

They came to a stop a few minutes later in what must have been a queue as they kept moving forwards slowly.

Finally, the reached the soldier at the front of the queue.

"Papers," he said in a tired, bored voice.

"We're not going off planet," Ryoko said sweetly, "Just around to Cyrost."

"Right," the guard said and Tezuka cringed at how disbelieving he sounded.

It didn't phase Ryoko. "What is your ID number?"

"What?"

"Your ID number. The number that you use to identify yourself," Ryoko said as if the man in front of her were stupid. "I need it so that my madam can launch a formal complaint. This lady is intended for a very important customer."

There was a moment of tense silence and then the guard snapped, "Okay, okay, go through!"

"Thank you."

Ryoko lead Tezuka through the spaceport, Tezuka trying not to trip and stumble.

"You dressed me as a prostitute?" He asked as they boarded the ship and the door shut behind them.

"Yeah," Ryoko shrugged, grabbing the silk off him and folding it carefully. "It's the easiest way to smuggle people. The guards never both high class prostitutes like you."

"This coming from personal experience?" Tezuka asked and then turned bright red as Ryoko pulled her dress over her head. He spun around, desperate to give her some privacy.

"A bit," Ryoko replied, unabashed. "You don't need to do that, I don't care about you seeing me naked."

Tezuka felt himself blush even harder and stared determinedly at the floor.

"Fine, whatever." Ryoko's footsteps walked away, clinking on the metal floor.

Once Tezuka was sure she'd gone he relaxed a bit. He'd never met a woman who'd strip in front of a man before; clearly he'd moved in very different circles.

"Hurry up and sit down!" Ryoko's voice cut through the silence of the corridor. Tezuka followed it and found himself in the flight deck.

Ryoko was already strapped in and, somewhere along the line had found a pair of trousers. Not a shirt though.

"Oh," Tezuka said.

"What?" Ryoko snapped.

"You're- well, you're not a woman."

Ryoko smirked, "men wear dresses too. Now sit down- not there!" he snapped as Tezuka moved to the co-pilots chair, "I need that to navigate."

"You do both?" Tezuka asked, strapping himself into a seat behind Ryoko and casting an eye over the instruments. They were cobbled together out of multiple old systems -how they even worked together was a mystery to him and he was suddenly glad he hadn't offered to navigate.

"Duh," was Ryoko's only reply as he flicked switches, pressed buttons and watched gauges. When he was happy with everything, he pressed a button and the ship shuddered violently and fell silent. Ryoko grunted irritably and jabbed at it harder.

"Come on you useless pile of junk!" he muttered after the third aborted start. He banged the top of the console hard and violently hit the button again. The ship shuddered, but now with an underlying whining noise that got louder and louder as the ship came alive.

"Thank you," Ryoko muttered bitterly, his eyes watching the gauges and dials like a hawk. Once the engine had warmed up -or whatever it was doing- Ryoko rose the ship slowly into the air, hovering out of its parking space.

"The name's Ryoma," he said and the gears in Tezuka's brain started to turn.

Whilst the other ships soared towards the sky, theirs headed out over the jungle. Tezuka would have enjoyed this a lot more if he wasn't smuggling something off planet, he half expected something to start firing at them.

"Relax, no one's going to see us leave," Ryoma said. Tezuka frowned, hoping more than knowing he was right. Ten, maybe fifteen, minutes of flying over the jungle later, Ryoma pulled back on the controls, easing the throttle up further and further as they shot up into the sky.

The ship rattled worryingly as it passed through the atmosphere the purple-blue sky fading away until stars appeared and they were in the blackness of space.

"See, we're fine," Ryoma said, turning to grin at him.

Tezuka was about to reply, but he was thrown back against his restraints as something struck the ship.

Ryoma jumped into action as alarms screeched all around them.

"Ship's working," he muttered to himself. "What the hell was that!?" His eyes fell on the radar, "why the hell as there Tie fighters here?"

"I don't know," Tezuka snapped. "We need to not be here."

"Sit here!" Ryoma ordered, jumping out of his seat and into the navigators.

Tezuka scrambled over and grabbed the controls as the evil-looking little tie fighters soared into vision. "I have no idea what to do!"

"Anything," Ryoma snapped as he started plugging things into the navigation system.

Tezuka pushed the controls down and the ship plummeted -not plummeted really, down in a 3D space in a ship with artificial gravity was just another 'forward', but he'd think about that later. A barrage of red laser shots bounced off the slowly weakening shields, making the ship rattle and almost uncontrollable.

We're going to die, Tezuka thought desperately as he tried to do avoiding actions without knowing any. Next to him, Ryoma was growling at his equipment.

"Damn this!" Ryoma shouted, hitting the cobbled together equipment. "Okay, Sorted. Move," he ordered, pulling Tezuka out of the pilot's seat and clambering in. He grabbed a lever, pushed it and the stars drew out around them. They were in hyperspace.

"No entanglements with the law, huh?" Ryoma asked, eyebrows raised. "Something you want to tell me?"

"That's about it," Tezuka replied, "I'm sure you can work out the rest."

"You owe me 20,000," Ryoma muttered, "and all repairs to my ship."

"Fine," Tezuka agreed, "how is the ship?"

"Bad," Ryoma replied. "I think I can keep her going until we get to Coruscant."

He flicked a couple of switched and the alarms were silenced, the air seemed empty without them. "I need a shower." He sauntered out leaving Tezuka alone on the flight deck.

The thought that had been ticking away in the back of his brain was now screaming for attention now they were out of immediate danger.

He was called 'Ryoma' and no one could doubt that he and Ryoga were related in some way. He'd found the lost Echizen brother entirely by accident.

Now all he had to do was get him back to his family

And maybe Ryoga would look at him differently…

The ship was made up of mainly a massive cargo bay with a tiny crew quarter tacked on. Ryoma -or one of the ship's previous owners- had made many modifications to it over the years, so Tezuka wasn't sure what it must have looked like originally. What none of its previous owners had done was add on an extra sleeping quarters.

There was, luckily, two beds, presumably because the ship was meant to be flown by two people. The sleeping quarters were attached directly to the kitchen/living area and a bathroom came off that as well as a short corridor to the flight deck.

Tezuka didn't bring up the issue of Ryoma's parentage for a day or so, it seemed rather forward to be asking that after they'd known each other for less than a day.

But the question kept needling away at Tezuka. He couldn't believe it was just coincidence that Ryoma looked so much like the people Tezuka's presumed to be his father and brother! And it wasn't just looks, the way Ryoma tilted his head when he smirked, the way he puffed out his cheeks and pouted when he was annoyed. There had been many times over the past couple of days when Tezuka could have sworn the man walking up behind him was Ryoga, not Ryoma.

"Do you have any family?" Tezuka asked as they ate rehydrated food.

Ryoma gave him a 'what do you think?' look and carried on eating. Tezuka decided to let it drop, not wanting to push it. After all, he could easily take Ryoma to the Echizen's with the excuse of picking up his money.

"I dunno what happened to them," Ryoma said quietly as Tezuka was finishing off his meal. "I've been by myself all my life."

Tezuka's heart felt like a knife had been sliced through it.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Why? What did you do?"

"I brought it up, I shouldn't have pried."

Ryoma shrugged, "don't be. I'm over it."

Tezuka bit his lip, the words were coming to his tongue, but he didn't know if he should say them. Surely he should warn Ryoma, give him some idea of what he was taking them in to? But what if he decided not to go to Coruscant after all and left him stranded somewhere?

He decided, for now, it was best to remain silent.

"Do you have family?" Ryoma asked, snapping Tezuka out of his thoughts.

"Yes," Tezuka replied, "my parents and my grandfather. They're all involved in politics."

"You are too?"

"I'm a junior assistant to the ambassador.", feeling a slight cringe at the thought given where they were now.

Ryoma smirked, "fancy. What does that mean?"

"It's a starting position," Tezuka replied, feelings his cheeks heat up.

"Nice. It's better than what I do."

"Which is?"

"Do you really want to know?"

No, Tezuka though, but he nodded.

"If someone'll pay me to do something I will. Mostly it's shipping stuff, smuggling, that kinda thing."

"And sometimes you wear dresses?"

Ryoma grinned, "dressing like a woman is the best way to smuggle things. But, that time I was being a prostitute. If you get the right clients it pays well," he added as Tezuka turned red again. "I don't do it if they don't pay me properly."

"It must be more exciting than being a junior assistant," was all Tezuka could think to say, his training kicking in and taking over his seized brain.

"I'm sure it is," Ryoma laughed, "less reputable though."

That laugh, a little higher than Ryoga's but still so recognisable. Tezuka was struck with an irresistible urge to lean across and kiss him, one that shocked him to the core.

He couldn't do that! Why had he thought of doing that?

He shifted a little away from Ryoma, but the other man was getting to his feet and didn't notice.

"We can't get to Coruscant straight away," Ryoma said, "the ship's not gonna hang together for much longer."

"Oh," Tezuka replied, his stomach clenching tightly.

"I know a place," Ryoma said, "it won't take long, I'll need money though."

"You're going to bankrupt me."

"You wanted a ship," Ryoma shrugged, "you still haven't told me why, I'm not stupid, I know we were attacked because of you."

Tezuka stared at the table. If he could, he wanted Ryoma to remain ignorant of the truth, if they were captured he didn't want him to get into trouble as well.

"Whatever," Ryoma said. "If you want me I'm going to battle with the engine again."

Ryoma had been spending much of their trip so far in the engine bay, fighting to keep his ship running for as long as possible. It had been hanging over their heads that they would have to stop, if only to get spare parts, but hearing it aloud cemented it.

Tezuka joined him a bit later, to pass tools and be yelled at for not passing the right one. There wasn't anything else to do on board.

—-

"Hyotei is the closest place to get parts," Ryoma said the next day.

"Hyotei?"

"Yeah. You know, that icy one." Tezuka could think of lots of icy planets besides that one, for how vague the description was.

"I know. I know the prince, we went to school together," Tezuka replied, rather pleased by the way Ryoma's eyes widened in surprise.

"Can you get free repairs off him?" Ryoma asked.

"Possibly," Tezuka said, thinking back to their school days together. Atobe had always been overly friendly with him, he may be able to swing it. Heck, if he played his cards right, he could probably get an entirely new ship.

"I'm going to take us out of hyperspace, the ship's gonna die if I don't," Ryoma said. "It'll take us longer to get there, but we won't explode."

"I prefer not exploding," Tezuka said and Ryoma laughed.

Once out of hyperspace, the ship needed less on the spot repairs. The hyperdrive was, in Ryoma's words, fucked. But, with no spare parts there was no chance of them repairing it in space.

Luckily, Tezuka had brought his reading device to keep him occupied as they flew slowly through space. Ryoma lazed around, sometimes wandering off to poke about with some part of the ship.

"It's not even my ship," he admitted several days away from Hyotei.

"Who's is it?" Tezuka asked, knowing he wouldn't know who Ryoma had taken

it from.

"Fuji, the guy who sets me up with jobs, lent it to me," Ryoma replied. "It's more use as scrap so if I don't give it back it's entirely his fault for giving me a shit ship."

"Will he mind?"

"He won't have a choice." Ryoma slumped down on the sofa next to Tezuka,

"I'm too valuable to make my life hell."

"He could put you in debt to him," Tezuka warned. Ryoma may not be able to see all the trouble he could get in, but he certainly could. They hadn't talked a lot during their journey -often sharing only a few words between waking up and sleeping- but he'd become fond of the other man. Maybe he was just hopelessly attracted to Echizens.

"And I can disappear," Ryoma replied as if it were the easiest thing in the world. "Space is big and I'm pretty small."

"I wouldn't want you to get in trouble over me."

Ryoma snorted, "I can pick up jobs with or without Fuji and ships are easy to come by too. I've been on my own all my life, I can take care of myself."

Tezuka nodded unenthusiastically, "do you enjoy it?"

"It depends. Some jobs are fun, others are hell."

"How does this one rate?"

"Not too bad," Ryoma replied, sounding very amused, "at least you're good looking."

Tezuka tried to fight down the blush that was forcing its way up his neck, but it was too strong. Ryoma laughed when he saw Tezuka's cheeks colour.

"You're cute," he said, "I don't meet a lot of people like you."

"I-" Tezuka started and then shut his mouth when no other words came. He wasn't used to being flirted with at all, how did people manage it?

Ryoma just leant against his shoulder, "I'm going to sleep."

"That can't be comfortable," Tezuka managed.

"I've slept on stone floors," Ryoma replied, yawning, "your shoulder is nice."

"Sleep on my lap if you're going to sleep on me," Tezuka said, suddenly irritated. He couldn't understand why Ryoma would pick the most uncomfortable -short of sleeping on the floor- option available to him.

Ryoma looked rather shocked, like he'd expected to be pushed off, not be invited to sleep somewhere far more intimate.

"And get a blanket," Tezuka added, "I can't fly this thing and it's cold in here. I can't have you getting ill."

Ryoma blinked and then scrambled away to grab a blanket before settling back down, his head now resting on Tezuka's leg.

"Thanks," he muttered, the rest of his body curling into the fetal position.

Tezuka nodded and then returned to his reading as Ryoma fell asleep. He felt rather exposed, being left alone in the ship. It was silly, Ryoma was right next to him, but he was technically in charge of the ship.

He put a hand on the sleeping man's shoulder, as if that would somehow stable himself. Something warm blossomed in his chest as he watched Ryoma sleep. Asleep, he looked so innocent, like he hadn't been living in the edges, fighting to survive all his life.

The tug of pity at his heart was useless. What could pity do? It wouldn't fix anything and he was sure Ryoma wouldn't appreciate it. What he could do was offer him a chance to be with his family and if he didn't want it, he would give him his money and let him go.

—-

"So…What exactly are you smuggling?" Ryoma asked, two hours out from Hyotei.

Tezuka looked up from his case, where he'd been packing, to the door that Ryoma had suddenly appeared at and was leaning against. "I'm-"

"We wouldn't have been shot at if you weren't doing something wrong. Tell me."

Tezuka sighed. "I don't want you to get into trouble."

"The Empire will still torture me," Ryoma argued reasonably, "trust me, I know."

Not wanting to know how Ryoma knew that, Tezuka pulled out the memory chip grudgingly. "I don't know what's on it," he admitted.

"Why didn't you ask?" Ryoma asked, snatching the chip for Tezuka's hand.

"It was the ambassador," Tezuka replied, wondering why he hadn't asked. There hadn't been time and he hadn't wanted to ruffle his boss's feathers.

Ryoma raised his eyebrows and then laughed, "Let's take a look."

"No," Tezuka said sternly, "give it back."

"Don't you want to know what you're risking our lives for?"

"Yes, but I was told not to show it to anyone."

"You're an idiot," Ryoma said, handing back the memory chip anyway.

"An idiot who's employed."

"You won't be if we get blown up," Ryoma pointed out. "Anyway, we need to hide that."

Tezuka nodded, he couldn't really keep it in his pocket like he'd been doing on the ship. "Where?"

"In your clothes?" Ryoma suggested, "it's not like you're going to be walking around naked. Especially on Hyotei."

Tezuka thought about what he was likely to wear on Hyotei. It was going to be cold -it was always cold-, but he didn't have a large winter coat and, if they were going to be finding Atobe and theoretically staying with him he'd be inside and look suspicious wearing a coat.

"A shirt?" He said, looking to Ryoma for confirmation.

"Yeah, that'd work," Ryoma replied, "can you sew?"

"No," Tezuka admitted.

"Give me your shirt and the chip," Ryoma ordered.

Tezuka's cheeks heated up as he unbuttoned his shirt and handed it over. It wasn't even as if Ryoma was ogling him, why was he feeling so self-conscious? He'd never felt this awkward around Ryoga.

He handed over the shirt and memory chip and Ryoma disappeared back into the living area. Tezuka followed, hugging himself to keep warm in the chilly air in the ship.

"Relax," Ryoma muttered as he picked apart a seam on the shirt collar, "I'm not gonna do anything to you just because you're shirtless."

Tezuka ran that sentence through his head, "but you would try something?"

"If you're offering," Ryoma replied, smirking.

"I'm not," Tezuka said, his heartbeat quickening.

"Shame," Ryoma muttered, his attention now fully on the shirt collar, pushing the memory chip inside and starting to sew up the hole. "You're not allowed to lose this shirt," he said, handing it back, "sleep in it if you have to."

"Thank you," Tezuka said, putting the shirt back on. He felt better than the chip was properly hidden.

"What are we going to do when we get to Hyotei?" Ryoma asked. "We can't march into the castle and demand to see the prince."

Tezuka had prepared for this. "They do guided tours of the castle. We should join one and then slip away to find Atobe."

"I can think of lots of ways that can go wrong."

"I know where Atobe's bedroom is."

"So we hide under his bed?"

"I don't see why not."

Ryoma sighed. "Fine, it's not like I have a better idea."

The late afternoon sun sparkled on the snow blanketing the capital of Hyotei as they landed somewhat violently on the landing pad.

"I think something else has broken," Ryoma said as the landing gear crunched when it hit the ground. "Let's go."

Tezuka really regretted not packing a warm coat as his skin goosebumped when they walked off the ship into the crisp, cold air. Next to him, Ryoma looked grumpy, dressed in a fraying coat that couldn't have been much protection against the cold.

"Let's get to the castle quickly," Ryoma muttered. "I'm so cold."

It wasn't hard to find the castle, it towered above the city, looking like it had come straight out of a fairytale. There was a long queue of tourists waiting to get in, on that they joined the end of.

"Why is it so expensive to get in?" Ryoma asked, staring at the prices. "Are the tickets gold plated or something?"

"Not as far as I'm aware," Tezuka replied, rubbing his hands together. It was so cold.

Slowly they made their way up the queue, by the time Tezuka got up to the admission booth he couldn't feel his fingers and Ryoma was shivering. They were being stared at by the other tourists, all of whom had dressed properly for the weather.

"Finally," Ryoma muttered as they were let into the castle, which was wonderfully warm.

"There's a tour starting over there," Tezuka said, motioning to a group of tourists mulling around at the other side of the grand entrance hall. They tagged along on the back of it, neither listening to the guide.

"Where's the best place to escape?" Ryoma whispered as they were taken into the dining room, the long table all laid out with sparking white china.

"The other side of the castle," Tezuka murmured back, pretending to be interested in the antique china.

"Right," Ryoma replied, sighing. "I feel like a peasant."

"You're not," Tezuka assured him.

"I'm sure there are rules of what to wear when meeting a prince."

Tezuka sighed, "you look great."

Ryoma picked at the hem of his coat and didn't reply.

They were guided around the rest of the formal rooms of the castle, being kept well away from the private ones.

"We should slip out soon," Ryoma said, "I think we're coming near the end. Know your way from here?"

"I do," Tezuka assured him.

They hung back, pausing to feign interest in the old paintings lining the walls. Then, as the tour group rounded a corner, they dived down a corridor.

"Lead the way," Ryoma said.

It was exciting, sneaking around the castle, avoiding guards and staff. Once or twice they were almost caught and it was only Ryoma's quick thinking, pushing Tezuka against a wall and making his heart beat so fast he was sure it was going to fly out of his chest.

"It's just over there," Tezuka whispered as they reached the fifth floor.

"It's deserted," Ryoma said, he grabbed Tezuka's hand, "come on!"

The short distance from the stairs to Atobe's room was one of the most heart stopping moment of Tezuka's life. Any moment someone could burst out of one of the surrounding rooms and catch them. But they didn't. And Ryoma was holding his hand.

"Should we knock?" Tezuka asked when they reached the door.

"Why? It'll draw attention to us."

"What if Atobe's in there?"

"Then we won't have to wait for him," Ryoma hissed, grabbing the door handle and pushing it open.

There was no one inside.

Tezuka hurried in and shut the door behind them.

"Want to get under the bed?" Ryoma asked motioning to the large four poster and smirking at Tezuka. "We can pretend to be monsters."

In all honesty, Tezuka hadn't expected to get this far. He hadn't said it aloud, but he had been sure they'd be caught by a member of staff and escorted out before they'd even reached the second floor. Surely the tour guide must have alerted someone that two of their tour members had become lost!

His heart was beating quickly, pumping so much adrenaline around his body that was now of no use that he was shaking. And there was Ryoma, smirking and sparking, joining him in this insane plan.

His feet moved without his permission and before he knew it he was standing in front of Ryoma, his hands resting on his shoulders. Ryoma looked up at him, his eyes watchful but giving off nothing that indicated he didn't want to do this. He leant down, his lips almost magnetically attracted to Ryoma's.

The kiss was soft, their lips fitting together like two pieces of a jigsaw. Tezuka had never kissed anyone before and hadn't known what to expect beyond what he'd read in books. Ryoma's lips were warm and slightly chapped and fit so perfectly against Tezuka's.

"I'm sorry," Tezuka said as they pulled apart. "I don't know what came over me."

Ryoma snorted, grabbed a handful of Tezuka's shirt to pull him forward and smash their lips together.

It was nothing like the feathery soft, light kisses of Tezuka's kiss or the elegantly dancing tongues of his books. It was hot and fiery and messy. Ryoma's hands were in his hair, twisting and pulling, as he practically devoured Tezuka's mouth.

Ryoma caught Tezuka's bottom lip between his teeth and pulled bag, sliding it between his teeth, his eyes bright and mischievous.

"I'm not sorry," he breathed, breath hot against Tezuka's lips. "Want to test out the bed?"

"No," Tezuka said sternly. "This is not the time nor the place," trying to fight off the bright red flush on his face and failing miserably.

"You kissed me first," Ryoma smirked, looking terribly smug.

"We need to wait for Atobe."

"And until he arrives we can kiss."

"No."

"Fine," Ryoma pouted.

They waited. And waited.

"I'm going to sleep," Ryoma stated after an hour.

"Take your shoes off," Tezuka ordered as Ryoma hopped onto the bed. He scowled, but kicked off his boots as he clambered under the covers.

"It's comfy," Ryoma said, his voice muffled by the pillows. He sat up, his hair now mused, "join me."

Tezuka sighed. "I'm not joining you in Atobe's bed."

"Boring," Ryoma muttered, "come here, I need to tell you something."

Tezuka gave him an exasperated look. Why couldn't he just tell him across the room? "Fine."

Ryoma smirked as Tezuka grew near and Tezuka had a feeling that whatever he was going to be telling was not going to be important.

"What is it?" he asked as Ryoma beckoned him closer. He leaned down so that he was inches from Ryoma's face.

Ryoma's smirk grew and he brushed a few strands of hair from Tezuka's face

before kissing him.

Of course this was what he wanted, he thought as Ryoma rolled him over so that they were lying side by side, kissing.

"You're wearing your shoes on Atobe's bed," Ryoma said, trying to sound stern, but not quite able to hold back his amusement.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Mine," Ryoma replied smugly, "but you started this kissing thing."

Tezuka swung his legs off the bed and sat up, just as the door swung open.

Atobe started at him as if he'd seen a ghost and then he ran over, pulling Tezuka into a bone crushing hug.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Atobe cried.

"What?" Tezuka asked.

Atobe clung onto him for a couple of moments and then said, "the envoy to Hiybos were murdered."

"What?!"

How had that happened? When had it? He'd escaped whilst everyone else had died! All the faces of everyone he'd travelled with floated through his head.

He'd never see them again.

"It was the remains of the Empire of something," Atobe said, "they massacred everyone from the New Republic."

Tezuka felt cold, so cold, like ice was freezing his blood. He'd escaped.

"The ambassador told me to leave," he said quietly, "Ryoma helped me escape."

"Ryoma?" Atobe asked, finally noticing the man lying in his bed.

"Me," Ryoma said. "I took my boots off before I got into bed."

Atobe looked back at Tezuka, eyebrows raised. "Ryoma?"

Tezuka shook his head infinitessimally and Atobe, thankfully, took the hint. Ryoma finding out this way would not be ideal.

"I'm glad he helped you escape," Atobe said. "So, as lovely as having you here is, why are you here?"

"My ship broke down," Ryoma said before Tezuka could open his mouth. "We need repairs."

"Where are you going?" Atobe asked, completely ignoring Ryoma's existence.

"Coruscant," Tezuka replied, "I need to get there as fast as possible."

"I'll lend you a ship," Atobe said, "but you have to stay for the night."

"We have to leave," Ryoma snapped, unhappy with being ignored. "Don't we, Tezuka?"

"We do," Tezuka agreed, wishing he could agree to stay. He missed sleeping in proper beds.

"Nonsense, one night won't hurt," Atobe insisted, finally letting go of Tezuka.

"I'll have the staff prepare rooms and dinner."

"Can we escape?" Ryoma muttered to Tezuka as Atobe charged ahead with his plans.

"No," Tezuka replied, "especially not if you want a new ship."

"We can't use the state dining room, of course, but I have a modest one in my apartments-"

"Is it modest?" Ryoma whispered as they followed in Atobe's footsteps.

"Of course not," Tezuka whispered back.

"So, is he Echizen Ryoma?" Atobe asked after dinner - a dinner which he'd spent antagonising Ryoma until he stomped off to bed. Tezuka was nursing a headache.

"I believe so," Tezuka replied.

"And you haven't told him yet?"

"No."

"Why?"

Tezuka sighed. "I didn't want him to get scared and leave me."

Atobe snorted. "Are you in love with him or something?"

"Something," Tezuka replied. "And I was running for my life." The cold feeling

still hadn't left him even though the castle was well heated.

"Once you've reached Coruscant you'll have to come back and visit me," Atobe said. "I've missed you."

"You could come to Coruscant."

"I could," Atobe agreed, sighing and looking at the floor. "My father wants me to stay here though. Learn the ropes or something."

"I'll visit then," Tezuka said. "I should make sure Ryoma's okay, you annoyed him a lot."

"He's fine!"

"Still, it's late and today has been stressful," Tezuka said.

"Fine," Atobe gave up. "Your ship will be ready in the morning. But you have to come back and see me! I haven't seen anyone apart from court officials and politicians for months!"

"I will," Tezuka promised.

"And you need to tell Ryoma about his family before you get to Coruscant."

"I will."

Ryoma was in bed when Tezuka knocked softly on the door and walked in.

"Who is it?" he mumbled sleepily.

"It's me," Tezuka replied, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Good, I thought it was Atobe coming to strangle me."

"He wouldn't do that," Tezuka assured him. "I have something important I need to tell you."

Ryoma hummed to show he was listening and Tezuka was on the verge of telling him. But his body was feeling heavy and his eyelids were drooping, it was too late for important news and there was always time in the morning. Next to him, Ryoma let out a happy sigh and Tezuka fell sideways, unable to say sat up, his eyes sliding closed.

His brain felt so heavy, unable to keep on one train of thought, being tempted into deep and heavy sleep. Tezuka let himself fall, comfortable and content.

He woke up lying on something hard and cold. It took his brain a couple of moments to realise that something was wrong and then it tore through the heaviness of sleep and he was wide awake, his heart beating out of his chest.

His eyes protested as he tried to open them, the room he was in was brightly lit and pure white.

"You're awake," Ryoma said, he was sat on the floor, leaning against the wall of what Tezuka came to realise was a very small cell. "At least they locked us up together."

"Who did?"

Ryoma shrugged, "I dunno, I've only just woken up. I'm willing to bet on it being something to do with the Empire."

Tezuka's hand flew to the collar of his shirt and was relieved to find the small bump where the memory chip was.

"There isn't a way out," Ryoma continued, as Tezuka looked around at the blank walls. "I've checked."

"So we just wait?"

"Yep. Our best chance of escape is when someone comes to get us."

Tezuka nodded, feeling utterly miserable. Even if they did try and make a run for it there was no doubt they'd be recaptured straight away and then who knew what was going to happen to them? They were scuppered.

"I know who your family is," Tezuka said, looking everywhere but at Ryoma. "I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry."

"What?" Ryoma demanded, shocked and breathless. "Who?"

"You're Ryoma Echizen," Tezuka explained. "You were kidnapped when you were five and never seen again."

"Echizen," Ryoma tried it out. "How do you know?"

"You look exactly like your father and older brother," Tezuka said, his heart lightened somewhat by Ryoma not yelling at him for keeping it secret. "I'm completely sure of it."

"I have a brother?"

"And and mother and father. Your mother is a senator in the New Republic."

"So they're rich?"

Tezuka nodded, finally looking at Ryoma. There were many emotions going on in his face -confusion, happiness, loss, loneliness to name a few- and Tezuka placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer what little support he could.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryoma demanded, suddenly totally serious.

"Would you have believed me?"

Ryoma thought for a moment. "No," he admitted, "I would of thought you were scamming me out of your fare."

"Exactly," Tezuka said. "I needed to get home and couldn't risk being abandoned on a random planet."

Ryoma crawled up next to him, resting his head on Tezuka's shoulder. "Are they nice? My family."

"Yes," Tezuka said, threading a hand into Ryoma's hair. "They think about you every day."

"Then we have to get out of here," Ryoma said, more determined than Tezuka had ever heard him. "I want to meet them."

"We will," Tezuka told him. Even if I have to give myself up to let you go free, he thought.

There were footsteps outside and they both tensed, eyes focused solely on the door.

This was it. Their one chance of escape.

The lock clocked and the door slid open to reveal Atobe.

He rolled his eyes when he saw them together on the bench. "Are you coming or what?"

"How?" Was all Tezuka's mouth could manage.

"I'm here to rescue you," Atobe said as if that was completely obvious. "Now come on!"

"How did you get here?" Tezuka asked as they slipped out the door and into the narrow corridor. "Where are we?"

"We're in a Star Destroyer," Atobe explain as they snuck down the corridor. "My father has decided to become a traitor," he added darkly.

It was a massive ship and they walked through corridor after corridor. What

was surprising was that no one stopped them. There were stormtroopers, but one look at Atobe and they went back to what they were doing.

"This is weird," Ryoma said as they walked through a busy corridor intersection completely unchallenged.

Atobe looked back at them, utterly smug. "Are you awed by my special powers?"

They were stopped when they reached the hangers by two stormtroopers who

pointed blasters at them.

"Where are you going?" One of the demanded.

Atobe, completely unphased by the blaster in his face, stepped forward. "We have permission from the Admiral to take a ship," he said. Next to him, Ryoma gaped at such a bare faced lie.

But, the stormtroopers stepped aside, allowing them to proceed.

Ryoma was now glaring at Atobe's back, clearly trying to work out how he was doing it. Tezuka, for now, didn't care. They had far more important things to worry about.

It was obvious which ship they were heading to, the sleek, pointed and silver, standing out like a sore thumb amongst the tie fighters and bulky transport ships.

"We're going to have to leave fast," Atobe told Ryoma as they reached the ship,

"it's up to you and your flying skills to get us out of here."

Ryoma nodded, "let's do it."

"I can't persuade people across the radio, so it's all down to luck once we're on the ship."

They boarded the ship unchallenged once again. It was very different to Ryoma's ship, clean and with all the wires and pipes hidden behind wall panels. It also started first time.

Ryoma didn't comment on the ship, but Tezuka could tell he was impressed as it did everything he asked of it first time.

"They're suspicious," Tezuka said, looking at the stormtroopers out of the window as Ryoma started up the ship and started to hover.

"Of course they are," Atobe replied from where he was lounging in the co-pilot's chair. "They're not idiots."

"No time to hang around then," Ryoma said, pushing on the throttle and speeding towards the exit. A couple of blaster shots bounced off their shields, but didn't stop them. Blasters were no problem for this ship, the laser cannons on the star destroyer were a completely different problem.

Ryoma dived immediately, curling under the belly of the star destroyer.

"If either of you were ready, we could do some major damage,to this thing" he said, flicking the steering controls and barrel rolled to avoid the stream of laser fire from the cannon on the underside of the star destroyer.

"Do you trust Tezuka with a laser cannon?" Atobe asked, looking up from the nav. computer.

Ryoma laughed, "You have a point."

Tezuka scowled at both of them, affronted. He could work a laser cannon if he absolutely had to! How could they both be so casual as they were fleeing for their lives!

"Computer's worked out the route," Atobe said, "ready?"

Ryoma didn't reply, just pushed the lever forward and they shot into hyperspace.

"That went well," he said casually, sitting back from the controls. "I'll trade you this ship for mine."

Atobe got gracefully to his feet, "No, I'm not trading my wonderful ship for your pile of junk."

"It's not a pile of junk!" Ryoma snapped after him as he left the flight deck. "It is," he admitted quietly once Atobe was gone.

"It saved my life though," Tezuka said, "I'm fond of it."

"Did you know he's magic?" Ryoma asked motioning in the direction of where Atobe had sauntered.

Tezuka shook his head. "He's always been good at persuading people."

"You should send him to that Jedi Academy thing," Ryoma said, "get him out the way."

"He'd my friend," Tezuka frowned. "And he doesn't need any training if what we've seen is anything to go by."

Ryoma gazed out the window at the stars streaming past. "We're going to see my family soon," he said eventually.

"You don't have to," Tezuka replied, but they both knew that wasn't true. If he did run away, the family he never met would always be hanging over his head.

"It's going to be awkward," Ryoma sighed, getting to his feet. "I used to dream about meeting them -when I was a kid- I always knew what to say, now I have no clue."

"You'll be fine," Tezuka promised, grazing Ryoma's elbow with his fingers.

Ryoma made a short of shrug motion and walked off leaving Tezuka alone.

He could understand Ryoma's point of view, how were you supposed to talk to a family you never knew existed? Had he thought they'd abandoned him?

Hated him for some reason? Tezuka had only flashes of what Ryoma had been through growing up and it certainly hadn't been easy, could he go from living

alone to having a family?

The idea of Ryoma leaving made Tezuka's insides scrunch up uncomfortably. He didn't want him to leave.

He got up and followed after Ryoma. He had to find him.

Atobe, lounging around and reading, shrugged when Tezuka asked if he'd seen Ryoma. "It's not a large ship," he said, "he can't have disappeared."

Ryoma wasn't in any of the bedrooms or the bathroom, so Tezuka started searching the utilitarian sections of the ship. The cargo bay was empty, which just left the engine room.

It looked just as empty as the rooms before it at first, but as Tezuka stepped in he saw a pair of feet sticking out from behind a bit of engine.

"Ryoma," Tezuka said, tapping the other man on the shoulder. It was noisy next to the engine, Tezuka had to raise his voice to be heard.

"Oh, it's you," Ryoma said.

"I have a spare room," Tezuka said and Ryoma looked utterly confused. "If you don't want to live with your family or need some space," Tezuka clarified. "You can stay with me."

A whole litany of emotion crossed Ryoma's face before settling on his familiar smirk. "You're asking me to move in with you."

"I'm-" Tezuka felt the heat rise in his cheeks.

"We've only kissed three times," Ryoma continued, pulling himself up on a guardrail on the engine and coming awfully close to Tezuka, their mouths now inches apart. "Maybe a few more times?"

Well, Tezuka wasn't opposed to that.

Ryoma pecked him softly on the lips and then smiled a genuinely happy smile.

"Thanks for finding me. I'll be taking you up on your offer." he patted Tezuka on the cheek and then left.

—-

Atobe and Ryoma, Tezuka decided, should never again be allowed to be in a small, confined space together. It wasn't even that they particularly hated each other, it was just their primary form of communication was bickering and it was giving Tezuka an almost permanent headache.

When they finally came out of hyperspace and touched down on Coruscant it was with a sigh of relief that Tezuka walked out of the ship.

There had been time, over the past week, where he was sure he would never see his home again, but here it was, completely unchanged.

There were so many things he needed to do, but first he had a memory chip, now freed from his shirt collar, to deliver.

"You're coming too," he told Ryoma, taking his hand. "It's thanks to you that I'm here."

"You sure?" Ryoma asked, "I'm not dressed the part."

Tezuka nodded and tugged him along behind.

It wasn't hard to get into the senate building, it turned out it was very easy to see high ranking politicians when you were the only surviving member of a murdered diplomatic envoy.

Ryoma sat on the sidelines, looking bored as Tezuka retold his story again and again. Somewhere in the building, Atobe as doing exactly the same.

Finally, they reached Leia Organa Solo and the memory chip was decoded and… it was the information that Hiybos was siding with the Empire. There was nothing on there that they didn't know already.

"At least you survived," Ryoma tried later as they left the senate building hours later.

"I did," Tezuka agreed. "It would have been nice if I were smuggling something useful."

Ryoma laughed and poked him in the shoulder. "You're alive and well and found me and you're pouting that you didn't find some amazing information?"

"I'm not pouting!"

"You're sulking! I saw your expression when that information was decoded, you looked like someone had kicked you!"

Tezuka frowned at him. "I'm not sulking. It's just… It just feels very anti-climactic."

"So what now?" Ryoma asked.

"I need to see my family. They think I'm dead."

"I'll wait by the ship."

"No, you're coming with me," Tezuka said, wondering how they were going to work this. "Or I could take you to meet your family first."

"You need to see your first," Ryoma decided, "mine can wait a little longer."

"Thank you."

Ryoma shrugged, "come on, let's get our 'hi parents, I'm not dead' talks over with."

Tezuka was sure his mother was never going to let him go anywhere alone again, or stop hugging him. His father was moved to tears and even his grandfather, who was not one to be overcome by emotions, had hugged him tight, his voice gruffer than usual.

Once she was done hugging Tezuka, his mother moved on to giving Ryoma a rib crushing hug, thanking him over and over again for saving her son.

"What's your name?" Ayano asked Ryoma, once she'd finished hugging the life out of him.

"Ryoma," he said, looking painfully confused at why he was being given so much attention.

Ayano Tezuka was a very smart woman and so easily put two and two together. "Kunimitsu," she said, turning to her son, who was trying to comfort his father

"You're going to the Echizen's?"

"We are," Tezuka replied.

"Send them my regards," Ayano told him. "And you should hurry along."

Ryoma hung back more and more as they got closer and closer to the Echizen's, the tension radiating from his body.

"You're family is nice," He said as they reached the building.

"They are," Tezuka agreed, "as are yours. They've helped me a lot over the years."

Ryoma nodded, but didn't reply.

"I'm scared," he admitted as they stood outside the front door.

"I'm here," Tezuka said. "I always will be."

Ryoma rung the bell and a whole new chapter of their lives began.


End file.
